


In the Mouth of the Beast

by BunniesofDoom



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Strawberry Sunrise - Freeform, Volume 8 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29305326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: On the way to rescue Oscar, Yang has an unexpected reunion.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 8
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Because you know I had to do it! Spoilers for episode 8 of volume 8 ahead. Enjoy!

As they enter the mouth of the whale, Yang is still in partial disbelief that Winter had willingly let them go in to look for Oscar. From her encounters with the older girl, and from what Weiss had told them, Winter was not the type to disobey orders from her superiors. But she'd seemed different this time.

Physically, sure, she'd looked exhausted and beaten down, battered from her fight with Cinder. But mentally, she'd seemed lost in thought, like she was wavering on the edge of making an important decision. Ren hadn't shared whatever he'd seen in her emotions, but Yang can hazard a guess as to what she might be considering. She just hopes that Winter makes her choice soon, for Weiss' sake. Of all people, she knows how much it can hurt to clash with your own sister.

And, for Winter's own sake, before she throws away her life for people that don't care about her.

She shakes her head to clear her thoughts. Now isn't the time to be worrying about Winter or any of the rest of the Ace Ops. They can focus on helping Weiss save her sister from herself once they've gotten out of here safely with Oscar in tow.

"This is so gross," she complains, not thrilled about the fact that they're currently inside a Grimm's mouth. And heading deeper inside.

Neither of the boys so much as crack a smile, too busy focusing on the task at hand. Fair enough. "Tough crowd," she mutters under her breath.

They've just made it across the Grimm's mouth and are about to enter its throat to see where that leads them (it better not lead to its stomach because Yang doesn't want anything to do with that) when they hear the haunting cries of the Grimm that took Oscar.

The Hound has returned.

She glances over her shoulder to see it swoop inside the mouth of the whale with a small figure clutched in its claws. Another victim to bring to Salem. Yang idly wonders who else the immortal witch wants to take prisoner. Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she makes a split-second decision.

"You two go ahead," she calls to Jaune and Ren, readying Ember Celica. "I'll stay back, hold off the Hound and free whoever was unlucky enough to be snagged by it this time. We're getting out of here with as many people as possible."

Jaune stares at her, looking conflicted, but Ren nods immediately and tugs the other boy away by the arm. "Oscar is this way. I can sense him."

Yang senses movement behind her and turns to see the Hound a few feet away, waiting patiently, almost as if she's blocking its path and it wants her to move out of the way. Not a chance.

She adjusts her stance to make it clear that she's not going anywhere. The Hound huffs loudly, although the sound is slightly muffled by the poor person that's now being carried in its mouth. "Out of the way," it croaks when she makes it clear that she's not going anywhere.

"Nope," she mutters, then charges.

The good news about fighting the Hound in an enclosed space like this is that the Hound can't take off unexpectedly and leave her floundering, and if it drops whoever it's carrying suddenly, she doesn't have to worry about them falling too far. The bad news is, the close quarters make it more difficult for her to dodge.

The other good news is that she doesn't really need to take it out so much as she just needs to stall it. If Jaune and Ren hurry, she won't have to do this for too long.

Her next hit lands squarely on the Grimm's face, causing it to stagger backwards slightly, roaring in pain. The motion causes a bit of fabric to escape from its jaws, dangling out of its mouth. It's red. A red cloak.

At the sudden flash of red, Yang feels her blood turn to ice. A small figure with dark hair and a red cloak. It's Ruby.

For a moment, she feels like she's frozen in ice, utterly shocked. What is Ruby doing here? Her sister was supposed to be—well, not safe, none of them can really be considered safe at this point—but she was supposed to be with Blake and Weiss and Nora and Penny, not here in the whale, kidnapped by a Grimm. Where had she been taken from? And if Ruby's been kidnapped, what happened to the others? Are they okay?

Is Blake okay?

The Hound has recovered from the last blow, lumbering towards her as if to casually slip by while Yang is lost in her confusion. To deliver Ruby to Salem. Not on her watch.

She's not entirely sure what happens next—her vision tunnels, everything seems to turn red, and the next thing she's aware of, the Hound is lying near the massive jaws of the whale, and Ruby is lying in a crumbled heap a few feet away from her, motionless.

Yang sprints to her sister's side, moving almost as quickly as if she had her sister's semblance. Ruby's face is so pale, and she's lying so still that for one heart-stopping moment, she thinks her sister might be dead. But no, when Yang fumbles for her wrist, her pulse is there. She lets out a sigh of relief, pulling Ruby close to her. Her sister groans faintly, eyelids flickering. "That's it, c'mon, wake up."

Ruby groans again, louder this time, and her eyes crack open slightly, revealing slivers of silver. "Atta girl—" Yang begins to praise her, but she's interrupted by a loud roar from the entrance of the whale's mouth. The Hound has somehow gotten back up, and is making its way back to them, limping but determined. Yang moves to shove her sister behind her, to brace herself to fight, but Ruby sits up, gazing hazily in the direction of the Grimm.

A flash of silver lights up the room, and when Yang finally blinks the spots out of her eyes, the Grimm is crumbling to dust in front of them. She sighs heavily in relief. "Good work, sis."

Ruby continues to stare in the direction of the Hound, transfixed, a look of horror on her face. Yang turns to see what her sister is looking at. The Grimm is still dissolving and—

There's a person inside it. That entire time there was a person inside the Grimm. How is that even possible?

A person was inside the Grimm. A person with silver eyes.

That too gives her pause. Is that what Salem wanted with Ruby?

Well, she's not getting her hands on her sister, that's for sure. Ruby goes limp again in her arms, and Yang pulls her close to her chest as she stands, adjusting her so she's holding her in a bridal carry. She whips her head around at the sound of footsteps—but relaxes when she sees Ren running towards her, Jaune following closely behind and carrying Oscar. And—Emerald is following them? And she has the lamp?

"What's she doing here?" Yang demands as they skid to a halt in front of her.

"Long story," pants Jaune. "When did Ruby get here?"

"Long story," Yang echoes him. "You guys don't have any other surprises, do you? Because I'd like to get out of here. This whale's breath smells awful."

Jaune smiles at her. "Lead the way."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We've got another problem on our hands."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody asked for a second part to this, but I got inspired so I figured I'd write it anyway. Enjoy!

Fortunately, they don't run into any further obstacles as they exit the whale. Yang allows herself a brief moment to hope that the Ace Ops managed to make it out okay before forcing herself to focus on the task at hand.

"We need to find somewhere to hole up for a bit," she calls to the others. "Ruby's not in very good shape." Her sister hasn't so much as stirred since she collapsed, and even unconscious, there's a pained grimace on her face. Yang needs to get her somewhere safe.

"Oscar isn't looking so great, either." Jaune nods in agreement. "Why don't you call Blake and the others, see if they know a place we could hide out for a bit."

It's a relief to finally have enough signal on their scrolls to contact the others again, and Yang feels a thrill of anticipation as she adjusts Ruby's weight so that she can dial Blake's number. She's eager to hear her partner's voice again. They haven't been separated for long, but it feels like they've been apart for weeks.

Blake picks up on the first ring. "Yang?"

Her partner sounds—battered, exhausted, like she's been fighting nonstop since they split up. "Hey, Blake."

"Yang! It's so good to hear from you. We kept trying to call you, but never got an answer—"

"I know, I'm sorry. The signal down in Mantle hasn't been great. But enough about that. Are you guys okay?"

"We—" Blake hesitates. "Things aren't exactly great right now. Are you okay?"

"We're fine," Yang assures her. "And we've got Oscar and Ruby with us. We wanted to know—"

"You found Ruby?" Blake cuts her off. "Oh, thank goodness, we were so worried. We were trying to find a way to go after her, but things have been so crazy and—" She shakes her head. "Weiss, Yang has Ruby with her!"

"Really?" There's some shuffling, and suddenly the white-haired girl comes into view on the screen. "That's wonderful to hear! How did you find her?"

"That's kind of a long story," Yang replies. They don't really have time to get into a long discussion now—they need to get Ruby and Oscar to safety. "Listen, Ruby and Oscar are in pretty bad shape. We need to get them somewhere safe."

"We've been hiding out at the Schnee manor," Blake says. "They should be safe here if you guys can make it."

"Let's see," Weiss muses. "Judging by your current location, you can take a shortcut through the tunnels. It shouldn't take you too long to get here. I'll send the route to your scroll."

"Sounds good. See you guys soon!" Yang reluctantly ends the call. "I've got some good news, guys."

They're trip through the tunnels is uneventful, if a bit grim. It looks like the entire population of the city of Atlas is hiding out down here. And if it's that bad up here, Yang can't even imagine what it must be like down in Mantle.

Emerald seems especially affected by the suffering of the citizens of Atlas, guilt written plainly on her face as she averts her eyes. Which honestly, as far as Yang is concerned, that's a good thing. She trusts Jaune and Ren's judgement, and clearly something happened back on the whale, but Emerald has a long way to go before Yang can even start to trust her.

Showing a few signs of remorse is a good first step.

Weiss and Blake are waiting outside the front door of the Schnee Manor when they arrive. "Yang!" they shout in unison, rushing over to her side.

"It's so good to see you again," Blake says softly, enveloping her in a slightly awkward half-hug. Yang returns the gesture, careful not to jostle Ruby.

"We're glad you're back," Weiss says, waving slightly. Yang makes a mental note to give her a proper tackle-hug once she has her hands free. "We should get inside. Is Ruby okay?"

Yang nods. "She's a bit beat up, but she should be fine," she reassures the white-haired girl.

The Schnee Manor seems very different from the last time Yang was here, dark and quiet and devoid of any signs of people or life. "Where is Nora?" Ren asks quietly, breaking the silence that has fallen over them, gathered in a loose half-circle in the front hallway.

"She's—resting upstairs," Blake says hesitantly. "Follow me and I'll take you up to her."

Weiss falls into step beside Yang. "What's she doing here?" she mutters under her breath.

She's obviously referring to Emerald. "It's kind of a long story," Yang replies. "We can talk about it later. Right now, we've got other things to worry about."

"Nora," Ren cries when they arrive at Weiss' bedroom, rushing to her side. She's conscious, but clearly not in great shape, judging by the bandages peeking out from under her clothing.

"What happened?" Jaune demands.

"It—it's a long story," Weiss stutters out, eyes fixed on the floor. "She was hurt, but we've had someone looking after her, and hopefully she'll make a full recovery."

Blake gestures for Jaune and Yang to set Ruby and Oscar down on the bed. "As happy as I am that we're all back together," she says quietly. "We've got another problem on our hands. Penny left. We think she might be heading for the Vault. And she was acting—odd. We think that she might be being controlled, somehow. We need to find her."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.
> 
> I still can't write endings lol. Also I believe that this is further proof that I should not try to write fight scenes.
> 
> Volume 8 has started up again, which means that it's time for me to frantically finish working on all my speculative fics before I have to deal with how noncanon they are. I might eventually write a continuation of this if I ever get inspired, but as of now I plan to leave it as a oneshot.
> 
> Just a reminder that I do take requests for fics, so if there's an idea that you'd like to see me write, feel free to message me and if I like it, I might end up writing something for it.
> 
> More people besides me need to start contributing to the Ruby & Yang tag, because I give myself depression every time I scroll through the tag and see how many of the fics are mine. I can only reread my fics so many times without noticing how terrible they are.


End file.
